Second Battle of El Alamein

The Second Battle of El Alamein occurred from 23 October to 11 November 1942 when the German Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel began an attack on the British Eighth Army at El Alamein in northern Egypt, just 60 miles northwest of the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The Germans and their Italian allies were defeated by the British general Bernard Montgomery, who more than proved his genius as a general. After El Alamein, the Axis forces began to fight a defensive war, ending with the surrender of the last Axis forces in Tunisia on 12 May 1943.

In August 1943, Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps invaded Egypt, having used blitzkrieg tactics to drive the British out of Libya. The Germans were forced to halt their advance after the British fought them to a standstill at the Alam Halfa Ridge, and the newly-appointed British general Bernard Montgomery decided to intensively train his forces and prepare for a counterattack. On the night of 23-24 October 1942, 900 British guns fired a preliminary barrage against the Axis forces at El Alamein, and Rommel's deputy Georg Stumme died of an apparent heart attack. Rommel launched several failed counterattacks against the British, but the attacks were repelled by the British. By 4 November, the Axis forces were in full retreat, and the British won a great victory, forcing the Axis forces to retreat into Libya.